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Children, staff react to pool death; autopsy expected today

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

Tampa police are investigating how Britney Mills, 11, died at Cyrus Green Pool.

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By KATIE CORONADO | News Channel 8
and KATHY STEELE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 9, 2009

Updated: 07/09/2009 04:42 pm

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Britney Mills

TAMPA - The apparent drowning death of 11-year-old Britney Mills is beginning to touch children who knew her and those who didn't but were at the community center where the girl died Wednesday.

Britney, her best friend said, wanted to be a brain surgeon when she grew up. And an athlete.

"Britney was one of my best friends. She was a nice girl. She told me that she can't wait until she grows up because she wanted to be a successful brain surgeon," said Laurie, whose last name is not being used because she is a foster child.

"She used to always smile, so when I think of her, I'll always think of her smile," she said.

An autopsy is expected to be finished today to determine how Britney died Wednesday in the Cyrus Greene Community Center pool. Investigators believe the girl drowned, though the autopsy will provide an exact cause.

Britney was among a group of children from the Jackson Heights recreation center who were at the city pool on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard as part of a summer recreation program. Britney appeared to be swimming fine, but one of the three lifeguards on duty suddenly noticed her at the bottom of the pool, Tampa police said.

The investigation by the Tampa Police Department is continuing today, a spokeswoman said. A number of children remain to be questioned.

Tampa Fire Rescue came to the scene about 2 p.m. Lifeguards and paramedics performed CPR on the girl for about a half-hour, but Britney was declared dead at St. Joseph's Hospital about 2:35 p.m.

Daphney Douglas, Laurie's foster mother, said the girl's death is too fresh to seem real to Britney's friends.

"I don't think it's really hit them yet, that she's not going to be here," Douglas said.

Laurie said Britney was an "A" student at Oak Park Elementary and was headed to Franklin Middle School this fall. She was on a step team at the school and was the team's lead performer at the fifth-grade talent show and banquet.

"She was a good performer, and everybody loved her," Laurie said.

Ten-year-old Ianthe Smith didn't know Britney but was dropped off at the community center after a field trip Wednesday.

Ianthe's mother, Lennie Butler, said her daughter didn't feel well Wednesday night and got into bed with her. This morning, her daughter got up much earlier than usual and was very sad.

"The staff, they do wonderful things for my kids," said Butler, who stopped by the recreation center during her lunch break to check on her daughter. "She has a field trip next week, and I'm OK with it."

Butler said she has told her daughter that when she swims, she should have a buddy with her so they can look out for each other.

The pool was closed Wednesday after the drowning but reopened today with its regular hours.

At mid-day Thursday, children romped on the playground or played pickup games on the basketball court but no one was swimming.

Linda Carlo, spokeswoman for the city's parks and recreation department, said children and staff took spoke with grief counselors Thursday. "It's been traumatic for everybody," she said. "We're trying to keep the day as normal as possible."

Carlo said she would not comment on the incident until the investigation is complete.

On Wednesday afternoon, the pool was open solely for the children from the Cyrus Green, Fair Oaks and Jackson Heights city recreation centers. The children were participating in a recreational swim program, Carlo said.

The closing of the Williams Park pool in East Tampa didn't affect the number of children at Cyrus Greene Pool. Williams Park pool closed at the end of last summer and never reopened, she said.

Carlo said Cyrus Green Pool didn't have an excess of children. There were 30 to 40 children in the pool and on the pool deck, she said. Maximum occupancy of the pool is 63.

Three lifeguards were there to monitor the children, Carlo said. The American Red Cross suggests that there should be one lifeguard for every 25 people at a pool, she said. One lifeguard had 22 years of experience; the other had 10 years, she said.

She identified the lifeguards as Dean Edwards, Anthony Anderson and Natalya Korotkova.

Carlo said the parks administration will debrief the lifeguards to learn whether they followed the proper procedure. Carlo said the lifeguards would not be punished or reprimanded "unless there was gross negligence of duty, and it doesn't appear to be that way right now.

"They performed the rescue, and unfortunately the child did not survive," she said.

The city made grief counselors available for the children and staff, Carlo said.

Britney's aunt Sherrell Carswell was making funeral arrangements on Thursday and a trust fund was being set up.

Wednesday night, she said the family is upset.

"Our family needs answers," she said.

She said police had talked to the family about the death, but no one from the parks department or the pool had spoken to them as of late Wednesday.

Carswell said Britney was a good swimmer and did not appear to have any health problems.

Reporter Kathy Steele contributed to this report.

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